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Hey Siri, make my banking easier!

Westpac first to enable voice payments through Siri

19 September, 2018

In an Australian banking first, Westpac customers will soon be able to make payments using voice technology.

The launch of Siri for Westpac is an extension of Westpac’s mobile banking app for iPhone’s, enabling customers to link their Westpac account to make a payment and check their account balance through Siri.

In the coming days, customers will be able to make payments to any payee set up in their Westpac mobile app or online banking from their Westpac transaction account linked to Siri, for example:

Customer question: “Hey Siri, pay John Citizen $20 for dinner”

Siri’s response: “Here is your Westpac payment of $20 to John Citizen. Do you want to send it?”

To authenticate payments, customers will be prompted to input their fingerprint or face ID before the money is transferred to the payee. Through Siri’s voice command, customers will also be able to check up to three Westpac account balances that are Quick Balance enabled in their mobile banking app.

Westpac research shows around one in two Australians (48%) use a voice assistant on their smartphone, with a third of this group using it at least once a day.

Westpac Group Chief Executive, Consumer Bank, George Frazis said: “We know a growing number of Australians are using Siri to help make their lives easier and faster, from checking the weather through to setting an alarm, all with a simple voice request.

“Now, Westpac customers will be the first in Australia to have the choice and convenience of using Siri voice technology to make a payment, and also check their account balance.

“With more than 2.5 million customers using mobile banking, this is part of our continued strategy of providing our customers with the technology and tools to meet their financial needs.”

Siri for Westpac follows the success of the Westpac Banking Skill for Amazon’s Alexa and Westpac for Google Assistant earlier this year.

In a recent survey, 28 per cent of Australians identified not having their bank login details to hand as one of the biggest roadblocks to transferring money via mobile, while the biggest benefits were being able to transfer money quickly (25%) and on-the-go (17%).

Siri for Westpac will be one of the latest additions to Westpac’s suite of innovative mobile banking features. Also launching later this week are new updates to:

Westpac Travel Companion – nowextending from Android to iPhone users, Travel Companion offers a seamless experience by automatically displaying the most popular travel features on the home screen of the mobile banking app when travelling overseas.

Westpac for iMessage – a new ‘You Owe Me’ feature allows customers to more easily provide a specific amount owed to them when sharing their account details via iMessage.

Siri for Westpac will be available for Westpac customers with an iPhone operating iOS11 or later, and with the latest version of the Westpac mobile banking app (v8.7).

To enable Siri for Westpac on iPhone, open Westpac’s mobile banking app and go to the menu on the top left of the home screen before signing in and select ‘Siri and iMessage’. You will then be asked to sign in by ‘Touch ID for Westpac’ or by using your four-digit passcode. Sign in and you will be prompted to enable Siri. Siri can only be enabled on iPhones operating iOS11 or above and where the app has fingerprint or Face ID simple sign-in enabled. Payments through Siri can only be made from the transaction account selected to use when Siri was enabled. Payments are limited to payees already set up in your Mobile banking app. Balances available through Siri are only for those accounts set up in your Mobile banking app for Quick Balance.

Pay Anyone via Siri:

Customer question: “Hey Siri, pay John Citizen $20 for dinner”

Siri’s response: “Here is your Westpac payment of $20 to John Citizen. Do you want to send it?”

About Westpac Travel Companion Travel Companion is a new feature available to customers on the home screen of the mobile banking app when travelling overseas, offering currency conversion, an easy partner ATM locator tool, ‘Contact Us’ information, and handy help options. Travel Companion requires data. Mobile data charges may be higher when overseas.

About Westpac for iMessage Westpac for iMessage is an extension of the Westpac iPhone Mobile Banking app and allows you to Pay Anyone, generate a Cardless Cash code, and share BSB and account details (by selecting ‘You Owe Me’) from within iMessage. The ‘You Owe Me’ feature also allows customers to include a specific amount owed to them when sharing their account details.

About the Westpac Mobile Payments Survey A survey of 1,000 Australian smartphone users (aged 18+) was undertaken in September 2018 to understand current payment and cash management behaviours and attitudes towards voice assistant technology. A cross-section of the Australian population was surveyed which is statistically representative of the national census.

Key findings from the research:

Nearly half (48%) of surveyed Australians use a voice assistant on their smartphone – a third (32%) of which rely on it daily

Australians most commonly rely on voice assistants to look something up on the internet (77%), make phone calls (46%) and send text messages (42%). Seeking directions (39%) and finding nearby places like restaurants (38%) are also commonly used

Being able to perform tasks quickly (55%) and on-the-go (47%) are the biggest benefits perceived by those who use voice assistants

Australians most commonly pay someone back using BSB and account number details via online or mobile banking (52%)

Nearly one in five (18%) believe being able to transfer money via a smartphone voice assistant would save them a considerable amount of time, while 13% like the idea of not having to remember any passwords or login details

The biggest roadblocks Australians face when it comes to transferring money via mobile include not having the bank details of the person they owe money to on hand (28%) and the length of time it takes to transfer someone money (14%)

Being able to transfer money quickly (25%), on-the-go (17%) and not having to remember multiple passwords or logins (15%) are important when it comes to transferring money via mobile

A third (33%) of Australians admit they often choose not to lend money to a friend or family member because it’s too hard to get them to pay them back.

[1] Quick Balance is a feature in Westpac’s mobile banking app that allows customers to view their account balances without signing in.

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